(Artist Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15463554/)

Standing atop a high cliff, the mouse took in what lie before him. The bard had spent weeks traversing the mountains with his small company, but the cold had done little to dampen his spirits. No, he'd journeyed far too long to let a little snow get the better of him.
Even now the sun's warming rays melted away the fatigue along with the straggling flakes of frost that still stubbornly clung to his jerkin, he felt nothing but the call of adventure, and the allure of the unknown.
"Look, there," He said, pointing toward a towering structure in the distance. His companions felt their eyes drawn to the arcane spires, their looming forms beckoning Adventurers as a master would a dog, "I told you. The road less traveled brings the greater reward. Just imagine what could be locked away in those towers!"

One of his party speaks up, the divine bat standing firm as she crosses her arms across her mail-covered chest, "I suppose. But what if its something that should remain hidden?"

The thief weighs in, the lanky mutt shifting on his heels as his hand habitually rests on the pommel of his sword, "Has that thought ever stopped us before?"

There is a rumbling of agreement within the band, their thoughts of riches or ancient magics too tantalizing to let rest.

"I suppose its settled then!" Chimes a faerie fluttering nearby, her small, wolven form gliding over to rest on the mouse's shoulder.

The bard nods, taking a scroll out of his bag. He holds it aloft so that the gentle glow of morning can illuminate the faintly glowing runes that are etched beside a sketch of a keep, "A perfect match..." He smirks, letting the runic swirls of color flow across the enchanted parchment, forming a name they could all read, and one they were intimately familiar with: Riesenheim

"The Fortress of the North. So it does exist..." Bellows a stocky, dwarven bear, roughly planting his shield into the ground as he tugs on his beard thoughtfully, "I never thought I'd lay eyes upon it." His mouth curls into a grin, "Or the perils and wonders that lie within."

The mouse nods, stepping toward the cliff, "Yet now its but half a day's journey from where we stand." He plants his boot upon the rocky ledge, his hand going to his own sword as his smile curls into a determined grin, "Let us break camp, my friends, it is time we ventured forth."

The fairy darts up off of his shoulder, fluttering excitedly as she cheers him on.

"Onward, our true adventure awaits!"

This amazing artwork was drawn by  atmanryu

(Artist Submission: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15463554/)